


Bad Guy

by anon7912



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Romance, This is just 7k+ words of me paying tribute to the reason I got into TBZ: Bad Guy Juyeon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:47:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25651585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anon7912/pseuds/anon7912
Summary: Hyunjae's friends think his new boyfriend, Juyeon, is a Bad Guy™. These are the five times Juyeon proves them wrong and the one time he doesn't quite.
Relationships: Bae Joonyoung | Jacob & Moon Hyungseo | Kevin, Choi Chanhee | New/Kim Younghoon, Ji Changmin | Q/Kim Sunwoo, Lee Jaehyun | Hyunjae/Lee Juyeon
Comments: 40
Kudos: 422





	Bad Guy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Milju_Jujae_tbz (Deedee78965)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deedee78965/gifts).



> To my dearest EH, 
> 
> I'm posting this in advance of your day of birth but happy early birthday! There are no words to describe just how grateful I am for your friendship. I'm so happy I found you through TBZ and AO3, and our DMs never fail to bring a smile to my face. Thank you for being such a wonderful friend - I'm sending you so much love and all the kisses over the interwebs for your special day! 💕
> 
> ~~  
> 
> 
> Hello! This is a short, fluffy fic with very little plot but I hope it's enjoyable regardless. Juyeon's Bad Guy performance on 1Million is the reason I got into TBZ in the first place, so of course I had to pay tribute to our best Bad Guy. 
> 
> This isn’t really smut, but there are brief references to rough sex and consensual choking, so please be aware. There is also a passing mention of a poor parental relationship so keep that in mind too. Happy reading!

Hyunjae is pissed. Cross. Incensed. A myriad of other synonyms to describe the exact, simmering anger that threatens to spill over into lashing words and scathing glares. He almost lets it, too, but then reminds himself for the umpteenth time that these are his friends and that they’re being the right bastards they are because they _care_.

Still it doesn’t do much to improve his humour, not when they’re going on and on, completely impervious to his ill humour. 

“And it’s not that tattoos make you a bad guy at all - they don’t, look at how cute Chanhee’s are - but it’s that _plus_ the smoking, _plus_ the terrible rumours Hyunjae-ya,” Younghoon is lecturing, his handsome face staring earnestly at the disgruntled blonde before him. Changmin, who’s sitting in an armchair playing with a strand of Sunwoo’s red locks, nods vigorously. 

“I heard he got into a bar fight once and broke a beer bottle over the guy’s head,” Sunwoo adds gravely from where he’s sat on the floor between Changmin’s legs. This makes Changmin let out a squeak of fear which Sunwoo hurriedly soothes by laying his head on the older boy’s knee and running a hand up the other’s calf.

“Oh my god that did _not_ happen,” Hyunjae huffs irritably. “Besides, aren’t we in grad school? Don’t you think we’re a little too old to be subscribing to the school gossip mill?” 

“Okay, but he’s definitely still a bad guy,” Younghoon argues back. “Like, a Bad Guy. ™.” 

“Did you- did you just _verbally say_ ‘™’?” Hyunjae demands scathingly. “I cannot _believe_ -”

“All we’re saying is we want you to be…cautious,” Jacob says quickly to mollify the blonde boy who is rapidly turning blotchy red with anger. “Maybe you can bring him around for movie night next week?” 

Hyunjae, whose nostrils are still flared as he glares at Sunwoo and Younghoon, lets out a shaky breath. _“Fine_ ,” he grits out, the fire in his eyes dying a little. “But if you guys are going to be dickheads, we’re leaving.” 

There’s a chorus of agreement, broken by the sound of Chanhee yelping as Changmin bites down a little too hard on his shoulder. 

That night, when Hyunjae lets himself into Juyeon’s apartment with the key that’s tucked oh-so-securely under the doormat, he finds his boyfriend reading on the sofa. Juyeon immediately looks up when he hears the door open, and his smile is wide and fond when Hyunjae shuffles in to throw himself onto Juyeon’s lap.

“You okay hyung?” he asks teasingly, running long elegant fingers through Hyunjae’s blonde hair. Hyunjae makes an unintelligible noise into Juyeon’s muscular thighs, breathing in the younger’s familiar scent before he finally flips himself around to look up at the dark-haired boy. Juyeon is regarding him tenderly, and Hyunjae’s heart does a pathetic little flop in his chest when he sees the way Juyeon’s wire frame glasses look perched precariously on the end of his long nose and the little smear of lavender face-mask along his hairline that Juyeon clearly didn’t quite wash away.

“Fine, my friends were just annoying today,” Hyunjae replies, leaning into the hand stroking his hair. 

“I’m sorry, that sucks,” Juyeon murmurs, brow puckering a little in concern, but Hyunjae placates him by catching his hand and pressing kisses into the broad palm.

“Whatcha’ reading?” Hyunjae asks between pecks that make Juyeon rumble low with amusement in his chest, and the younger flashes him the title of his book. 

“‘Will to Power’ — it’s one of Nietzsche’s most famous works. One of the other TA’s recommended it,” Juyeon says, dog-earing the corner of the page casually to put the tome down. Hyunjae snuggles closer, releasing the younger’s hand so that he can wrap both arms around the tapered waist before him. 

“D’you like it?” he asks into the folds of Juyeon’s hoodie.

Juyeon hums. “Mm, I like the spirit with which he writes, but I don’t find nihilism particularly compelling. It’s too lonely of a philosophy to carry with you in life.” With that, he hooks his hands around Hyunjae’s arms and scoops him up bodily to rest the blonde on his chest. Hyunjae smiles adoringly up at him, gently pulling Juyeon’s glasses off to place them on the side table.

“I missed you today angel,” Juyeon whispers, nudging at Hyunjae’s nose tenderly. Hyunjae sighs, content and long, as he finds himself wrapped up once again in Juyeon’s arms and the lovely halo of his warmth.

“Missed you too, Juyeonie.”  
  


I.  
  


“If anyone’s an asshole to you, you’re allowed to be an asshole back okay?” Hyunjae reminds Juyeon fiercely as they stand at Younghoon’s doorstep. He grabs the navy-haired boy by the shoulders and shakes for emphasis, but Juyeon just chuckles and kisses his forehead affectionately.

“Don’t be ridiculous hyung,” he laughs, before promptly knocking on the door. Hyunjae, who isn’t done giving his pep talk yet, exclaims, “Juyeon!-”

The door opens and Hyunjae is disgruntled to see all of his friends standing there, attempting to look as intimidating - maybe? - as possible. They’ve positioned themselves with Younghoon and Sunwoo in the middle, while Changmin and Chanhee stare stonily beside them. The only reasonably normal looking one is Jacob, who had opened the door and is currently shooting apologetic glances at both Hyunjae and Juyeon.

“Oh my god, you guys-”

“Why aren’t you wearing pyjamas?” Changmin asks Juyeon brusquely, cutting Hyunjae off. “If you want to come in, you have to abide by the rules.”

Juyeon’s eyes dart, alarmed, to Hyunjae, but before Hyunjae can _strangle_ the usually adorable boy, Juyeon quickly lifts his enormous hoodie up at the torso. “I am, I am, I just had to put a sweatshirt on top cause it’s cold out,” he says quickly, showing Hyunjae’s friends that what looks to be black sweatpants is actually a big onesie. 

Chanhee sniffs before stepping aside to let them in. Hyunjae removes his denim jacket and goes to hang it up in the coat closet, beckoning Juyeon over. “Juyeonie, should we go? I don’t-” he starts to whisper frantically, but Juyeon cuts him off with a warm hand to his cheek.

“No, seriously it’s fine angel,” he says, pressing a quick kiss to the tip of Hyunjae’s nose. “I get it y’know?” 

And when the younger tugs off his hoodie, leaving the arms of his onesie rolled up at the elbows, Hyunjae sighs because, ostensibly, he gets it too. Juyeon _is_ sort of terrifying looking. His arms are littered with dark, vicious looking tattoos - hissing cobras and snarling dragons - and even though what he’s wearing is freshly washed, the scent of cigarette smoke lingers on his skin, as do the rusty bruises on his tattooed knuckles. Still, Hyunjae thinks it’s mildly ridiculous not to look for a second longer and see past all of that to notice the softness in Juyeon’s slanted eyes or the intelligent quirk of his mouth.

When they trudge into the living room, everything is already set up as it usually is; Jacob is tucked neatly into his corner while Chanhee relaxes regally against Younghoon on the large sofa, and Sunwoo and Changmin are wrapped around one another on the squashy armchair. Normally, Hyunjae would drape himself over Jacob or flop on top of Younghoon and Chanhee, but since Juyeon is here, he pushes the younger gently onto the two-person loveseat, settling in comfortably between the dark-haired boy’s legs. 

“Is that a _cat_ onesie?” Sunwoo asks incredulously. Hyunjae looks up from where he’s sat, and, as he regards his boyfriend, he supposes the contrast between Juyeon’s scrawling tattoos and the fluffy kitten onesie he’s wearing is a rather shocking contrast. 

Juyeon just smiles and shrugs. “Cats were revered by the ancient Egyptians for being animals of fortuity,” he replies simply. Then he pauses and adds sheepishly, “And my little brother got this for me one Christmas, so…” Hyunjae looks around to see Jacob with a soft expression on his handsome face, while Sunwoo has a small, disbelieving smile on his. The focus is taken off of Juyeon, then, when Changmin claps his hands and gets up to turn off the lights. 

It’s Changmin’s turn to pick the movie for the week, so none of them are surprised when he pulls out the new ‘It’ movie. The boy had been talking about Pennywise for weeks now like he was about to be reunited with an old friend rather than a maniacal, murderous clown who lives in a drain, although that’s really nothing new for their little circle. When Changmin announces his choice, Hyunjae _thinks_ he feels Juyeon tense minutely underneath him, but when he looks around to check, the boy smiles one of his crinkly-eyed grins and Hyunjae is so entirely distracted by the sight that he forgets what he turned around for in the first place.

The movie starts, and it’s scary of course, but none of them mind much save for Chanhee who is buried in Younghoon’s chest - something the pale boy looks all too smug about - and Hyunjae is quite enjoying himself when the plot really sets in. It’s only at the first jump-scare, when he flinches, that he realises Juyeon is frozen underneath him. Concerned, he turns around and sees the younger’s eyes staring comically wide at the screen, a broad band of white around his dark irises. Hyunjae touches his knee comfortingly, and Juyeon twitches, finally looking away from the television.

“You okay?” Hyunjae whispers quietly, and although Juyeon nods, it’s not terribly convincing. Still, so as not to draw attention to themselves, Hyunjae turns back to face the front. It takes a couple more jump-scares for it to happen.

Pennywise’s face suddenly appears out of nowhere, enormous and garish on the screen, and they all startle. What really makes them jump, however, is the panicked shout of, “Why! _Why!_ ” that comes from the loveseat. 

Hyunjae turns to see Juyeon with his hands buried in his hair, eyes squeezed shut in an utterly petrified manner. Changmin pauses the movie and Jacob flicks a small lamp on. 

“Juyeon?” The navy-haired boy is pinching his nose bridge as he attempts to calm his breathing, his quick exhales alarming everyone in the room. “Juyeonie, are you okay?” Hyunjae asks again softly, stroking his boyfriend’s high cheekbones gently. Juyeon cracks an eye open and flushes abruptly when he realises everyone is staring.

“Sorry, I- wow that’s embarrassing,” he mutters, scrubbing furiously at his face. “I’m kind of a coward with scary movies, that’s all.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, Hyunjae can see Sunwoo and Changmin exchange bewildered looks. It’s a little baffling to see Juyeon, who is tall and frankly frightening looking, getting comforted by his boyfriend over a scary movie, and the confusion is clear as day on their faces. More than a bit embarrassed that the movie was paused because of him, Juyeon hurriedly reassures everyone that he’s fine and that the film can continue.

If Hyunjae’s friends see the couple switch places so that Juyeon is wrapped between Hyunjae’s legs and conveniently positioned to tuck himself into the blonde’s chest, they don’t say anything out loud. Sunwoo does, however, text Younghoon, “He can’t be _that_ scary if he gets freaked out by a fictional clown.” Besides, the sight of muscular, terrifying looking Juyeon wearing a cat onesie snuggled into Hyunjae’s chest is sort of, maybe, a _tiny_ bit cute.   
  


II.  
  


Unsurprisingly to everyone involved, Jacob is the first one of Hyunjae’s friends to come around to the idea of him dating Juyeon. Out of all of them, he was the most open to the prospect of Hyunjae’s new boyfriend with the horrible reputation — a reputation for being in a gang, for street fighting, for _crime_. Even so, as open minded as he is, Jacob doesn’t quite expect to find Juyeon on a rainy Thursday afternoon in a small, independent art gallery downtown.

Jacob is in the middle of shaking the rain out of his umbrella at the doorway of the gallery when he hears his boyfriend’s clear voice echoing through the room. He smiles to himself, fondly admiring how excited Kevin gets when he talks about his art, and walks quickly over. As Jacob rounds the corner, however, he’s surprised to see Kevin talking, not to a professor or a random passerby dropping in, but to Juyeon. 

Really, it’s somewhat comical, the way Juyeon in his heavy leather jacket, black utility trousers and military boots looks standing next to Kevin who’s wearing a periwinkle beret and a delicate choker around his pale neck, but there’s a familiarity to their interactions that surprises Jacob.

“Hey babe,” he calls cautiously, unwilling to interrupt. Kevin looks up at the sound of Jacob’s voice and his eyes brighten. 

“Hey Cobbie,” he says, leaning out from beside Juyeon to give Jacob a kiss. “Juyeonie, this is-”

“Jacob-ssi,” Juyeon says pleasantly, and although he and Jacob have only met once, the sandy haired boy sees sincere warmth in his smile. Kevin looks between them, surprised.

“Juyeon-ssi is Hyunjae’s new boyfriend I was telling you about,” Jacob says for clarity, and Kevin’s eyes widen for a moment before he frowns minutely.

“Oh! I- huh, okay,” he says contemplatively. “Small world. Let me go say goodbye to the director and grab my stuff, then we can go,” Kevin offers them both a grin before flitting off. For a second, Jacob feels a little awkward being left alone with Juyeon, but then the dark-haired boy says softly, “I really admire Kevin’s work, and he’s been a good friend to me since we met.” 

Always happy to talk about his lovely, quirky, boyfriend, Jacob smiles and agrees. “He’s great, it’s so exciting that the gallery picked up his pieces. How did you two meet?” 

“I’m getting my master’s in art history so I spend a lot of time at galleries downtown,” Juyeon says, eyes drifting over to the work on the walls. “I ran into Kevin at one of them and he told me about his work. It was so mesmerising listening to him speak that I couldn’t stop asking questions, and he very kindly entertained them for hours.” Juyeon chuckles sheepishly, and the way his mouth quirks up makes him look suddenly far younger to Jacob. 

Just then, a thought occurs to him. “Wait…did you- you met at a gallery downtown? Were you the one who invested in his work?” Jacob asks, flabbergast. When Kevin had told him that story, he had imagined an older gentleman interested in patronising young artists, but then Juyeon nods bashfully, the tips of his ears flushing red.

“Ah I didn’t know he- yeah, I- uh, ‘invested’ makes it sound like way more than it was. I just really liked the way he talked about his art and he told me he was short a few hundred thousand won for supplies so I…gave it to him,” Juyeon trails off, scratching his neck, carefully avoiding Jacob’s stare.

“Wow that was really nice of you Juyeon,” Jacob breathes. “You don’t know how much that meant to him, he gushed about it to me for days afterwards.” 

Juyeon shrugs noncommittally. “It’s important to support independent artists I think, and I just had a feeling Kevin deserved it.” He pauses, looking around the space with an awestruck expression. “I mean, clearly, he’s so talented. I was so happy when he told me his work got picked for the gallery.” 

From the broad grin on his face and the unfiltered joy dancing in his dark eyes, Jacob finds he doesn’t doubt a single word. 

When they part, he makes Juyeon promise to call him hyung instead of sticking to formalities. They’re walking out the door, Jacob sparing a last bemused, yet affectionate glance over his shoulder at Juyeon who is peering carefully at one of the paintings, when Kevin whispers, “That’s the scary guy you told me Hyunjae is dating? Cobbie, seriously, he’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.” This makes a reluctant grin stretch across Jacob’s face, and he looks at his boyfriend who is tucked into his side so that they can stay dry under the umbrella. 

“Yeah, I’m starting to get that impression.”  
  


III.  
  


Hyunjae slumps onto his bed, head pounding. He has just managed to drag himself back from the school clinic where he had been promptly dispatched to by Younghoon and Sunwoo from the library after they saw his red-rimmed eyes and hacking cough. Dizzy and disoriented, he’s about to feel very sorry for himself when he hears the front door open. 

“Hyunjae hyung! Are you home?” Juyeon’s voice comes floating through the flat. 

“Yes, I’m here,” he wheezes back before breaking into a coughing fit. Swift footsteps come thumping down the hallway before his door is opened by a rather flushed looking Juyeon. He has clearly just come from office hours in his button up and most straight-laced jeans, a little red but not quite sweaty yet. “I ran into Younghoon and Sunwoo at the library before my office hours and they told me you’d gone to the doctors.”

“Wait, you missed your office hours?” Hyunjae asks disbelievingly. Juyeon _never_ misses them — Hyunjae thinks he’s the only grad student on campus who actually enjoys going over material with snot-faced undergraduates. “Go babe, I’ll be fine!” he rasps. 

Juyeon scoffs. “The other TA’s are covering for me, it’s fine, angel,” he says gently, approaching the bed.

“Are you sure?” Hyunjae asks, even though he not-so-secretly hopes that Juyeon will stay. He’s being a baby about being sick, he knows, but since he’s so rarely ill, he doesn’t quite know how to handle himself. 

“‘Course, they owe me one for Halloween anyway,” J replies with his easy smile. “Here, I’ll help you get changed into your sweats and then go make you a cup of lemon honey tea.” 

While Juyeon pulls Hyunjae’s sweat soaked T-shirt over his head, Hyunjae is just trying to keep it together long enough to not literally collapse onto the younger boy. Juyeon makes quick work of pulling a clean set of comfortable clothes onto Hyunjae’s shivering frame, and Hyunjae finds himself freshly clothed before he can blink. The throbbing in his temples is immediately assuaged, thankfully, when he’s laid down gently by Juyeon, and he takes the momentary reprieve to watch the other fuss around him. 

Hyunjae feels a wave of tenderness for Juyeon crash over him as he sweeps his eyes over Juyeon’s tall, strong figure placing tissues and extra pillows all within reach of the bed, the faintest scent of sandalwood and cigarette smoke wafting over to his blocked nose every time Juyeon moves a little too vigorously. His hand reaches out of its own volition and grabs Juyeon by the wrist. 

“Sit please,” he croaks out, feebly patting the spot beside his pillow and looking up at Juyeon with plaintive eyes. The navy-haired boy just smiles dotingly and complies, carding his fingers gently through Hyunjae’s hair.

“Poor thing,” he coos, and Hyunjae leans into the touch with a sigh. “I’m sorry you don’t feel well baby.” 

“S’okay,” Hyunjae mumbles, already drifting off with the comforting weight of Juyeon beside him. Eyes closed, Hyunjae blindly gropes for Juyeon’s hand, and, without missing a beat, Juyeon’s long fingers thread through his. “Do you mind staying f’r a bit?” 

“Not at all. You don’t want that tea hyung?” Juyeon asks softly, and when Hyunjae grunts a negative, Juyeon leans over the bed to grab a book out of his backpack. As he reads, turning the page with his nose so that he doesn’t have to release Hyunjae’s hand, his thumb traces Hyunjae’s delicate bones oh so gently, pulling Hyunjae into a deep sleep.

Hours pass by, and even though Juyeon’s hand has completely lost circulation and the tip of his nose has begun to feel rather blunt from the constant contact with textured pages, Hyunjae never loosens his grip. It’s only when the sun starts to set that Juyeon finally decides that it’s time for him to get up to make Hyunjae some soybean paste soup. Carefully, he disentangles their fingers, tenderly brushing Hyunjae’s hair back from his handsome face before tucking the blanket a little tighter around him.

Shortly after, Hyunjae wakes with a start, blinking groggily and patting his bed to see if Juyeon is still beside him. Disgruntled to find himself alone, he’s about to roll out of the duvet swaddle when Juyeon comes in with a piping hot bowl of soup on top of a lap tray table. A little bowl of rice sits next to it, and Hyunjae is surprised to see a couple of banchan too - spring onion kimchi, pickled radish and bean sprouts all neatly displayed in separate dishes. 

Juyeon immediately clicks his tongue at Hyunjae when he sees him with bare feet on the cold floorboards. “Yah, what’re you doing? Get back in bed!” he exclaims, quickly propping the tray on the desk to bodily scoot Hyunjae back. 

“I know I know, I just wanted to see where you went,” the blonde grumbles, but his eyes are fond as he watches Juyeon tuck him back in. The sheer domesticity of his tattooed boyfriend wrapped in Hyunjae’s blue-striped apron with his sleeves rolled to the elbows makes something warm burst in Hyunjae’s chest, and for a moment, he feels breathless at the sheer amount of tender concern in Juyeon’s eyes.

When Juyeon finally deems him swathed adequately, he brings the tray to settle it so that it’s propped up on Hyunjae’s lap. Just as the blonde reaches an arm out to take the soup spoon, however— 

_Tak!_

The affronted look he shoots Juyeon at his hand being smacked away is distinctly comical. “Don’t take your hand out of the blanket angel,” Juyeon chuckles.

“And precisely how do you expect me to eat Juyeonie?” Hyunjae retorts tartly.

The only response he gets is a spoonful of soup held in front of his mouth. Hyunjae rolls his eyes, a little embarrassed to be spoon-fed like a child, but when Juyeon’s hand doesn’t waver, he huffs - of course, the effect is a little ruined by how congested he sounds - and swallows the savoury broth. When Juyeon goes to feed him another spoon, this time of rice and radish, however, Hyunjae purses his lips and shakes his head.

“Gimme a kiss first,” he demands.

Juyeon laughs and raises an eyebrow. “Trying to get me sick too, sweetheart?” he teases, and Hyunjae nods, a wry grin tugging at his mouth.

“Indeed. Equality for the masses they say,” he says dryly, and the bright laughter that escapes Juyeon’s mouth feels like the first burst of sunshine from between stormy clouds. The navy-haired boy complies, leaning in to press a soft kiss onto the tip of Hyunjae’s nose.

“‘I like my body when it is with your body. It is so quite a new thing’,” Hyunjae quotes playfully and Juyeon rolls his eyes as he veritably shoves the spoon in between those parted petal lips.

“You can’t charm me with Cummings’ words when I was the one who showed you the poem in the first place, baby,” Juyeon groans exasperatedly _(even though his eyes are so very warm as they look down at Hyunjae)_. 

Just as he raises another mouthful, Hyunjae’s doorbell rings. They both start a little, broken out of their cocoon of teasing smiles and sweet adoration, and Juyeon gets up to answer the door. 

“Hyunjae-ya, get out of bed, we brought soup!” Younghoon’s voice calls in between thumps, and Juyeon opens the door with an amused expression. 

“Oh hey Juyeon,” Younghoon and Changmin greet, surprised. “How’s Hyunjae doing? He looked really peaky earlier,” Younhoon asks as they toe off their shoes at the door, peering around the corner to look into the hallway.

“He’s alright, I actually just made some soup for him but I’m sure yours is far better,” Juyeon says kindly, grabbing the takeout bag from Younghoon. Younghoon waves him off with a pleasant “Bah!”, before leaving Juyeon to decant the soup in the kitchen while he and Changmin amble into the bedroom. 

Hyunjae looks up when he hears the soft knock on his door frame. “Hey guys,” he rasps, and Changmin immediately croons some indiscriminate sympathetic noise.

“You sound terrible,” he says in his affectionate, blunt way, sitting down at the edge of Hyunjae’s bed. “We brought you soup but the one Juyeon made looks way nicer. I didn’t know he cooked,” the dimpled boy remarks curiously, poking at the food with the chopsticks, while Younghoon settles himself elegantly at the foot of the bed. 

“Did you come here to see me or to gossip about my boyfriend?” Hyunjae asks sardonically.

Changmin and Younghoon shrug nonchalantly, matching rakish grins tugging at their lips. “Was that your apron I saw him wearing just now?” Younghoon asks, faux-casually.

Hyunjae nods slowly, watching the older’s act with unfettered amusement. There’s a pause where Younghoon looks at the doorway with thoughtful eyes before he remarks flippantly, “Cute.” 

Hyunjae laughs, the sound of his hacking cackles cracking Younghoon’s demeanour, and the two of them share affectionate, dopey chuckles while Changmin grins. “You’re such a tool,” Hyunjae jabs, flicking Younghoon in the arm.

“Yah, that’s ‘You’re such a tool, _hyung_ ,’ to you, brat,” the tall pale boy complains, flicking right back. The three of them look at each other fondly for a moment before Younghoon says softly, “I’m glad he’s taking such good care of you. I know I was a little…unsure - maybe - at first, but he seems…sweet.” 

Hyunjae huffs out a small, relieved laugh. As if a weight is suddenly lifted off his chest, he almost can’t help the breathless admission that slips out just then. 

“I think I’m falling in love with him.”

He’s not too moony-eyed to miss the knowing look that Changmin and Younghoon exchange, however, and Hyunjae rolls his eyes at them. “What?” he presses.

Changmin leans forward to rest his chin on his tucked in knees and says gently, “We kind of figured.” This makes Hyunjae’s eyebrows quirk upwards briefly before he bites the inside of his cheek.

“How did you guys know for sure if you were…y’know.” He gestures vaguely.

“You just know, Hyunjae-ya,” Younghoon says plainly. “It’s like breathing. Loving someone doesn’t involve anything more than just- being.”

_Being._

That sounds about right. Loving Juyeon is as thoughtless as the air that passes through his lungs, as the fluttering of pages in the wind. Simply _there_. 

After a moment's contemplation, he's about to respond when he hears a quiet knock, and Hyunjae looks around to see Juyeon standing in the doorway with a glass of water and a clear medicine bag. 

“Angel, I have your medicine here. It says to consume with food so you should probably take it now,” Juyeon says as he approaches the bed, digging out two pills to hand them to the bedridden blonde. 

Hyunjae takes the water and downs the medicine in one gulp, wiping the residual moisture from his lips. “Thanks Juyeonie,” he says with a smile, and the soft curling of Juyeon’s lips tug gently at his heart.

“We should go, you need to sleep,” Changmin exclaims as he hops off the bed, patting Hyunjae’s knee fleetingly. Hyunjae doesn’t protest, just waves at them fondly, a small chuckle escaping his lips when Younghoon trips - still as handsomely as ever - over flat floorboards. 

When they hear the front door close, Juyeon sits down on the bed and runs his eyes worriedly over Hyunjae’s flushed face. “Do you want a cold compress sweetheart? Your face is all red,” he remarks, tracing a knuckle over Hyunjae’s cheek.

The blonde shakes his head, rasping out sheepishly instead, “No, but do you mind staying with me for a bit?” 

“‘Course not,” comes the easy response, as if Juyeon hadn’t even considered going back to his own apartment, late as it is getting. Hyunjae grins, and throws his covers back so that Juyeon can climb in with him but Juyeon just scoffs and tucks them back around him, laughing, “Keep the covers hyung. I’ll just sit, the house is pretty warm anyway.”

Hyunjae rolls his eyes, but complies. “Where were you just now?” he asks, snuggling into Juyeon’s side. Fingertips calloused from hand-grading countless papers and more stroke down the expanse of his neck gently, and Juyeon says, “Just hanging out in the kitchen. It’d be awfully inconvenient for the plot if I wandered back in while you were in the middle of an important conversation.” 

Hyunjae snorts, lifting his eyes a little to look at the tan boy beside him. “Yeah? And what plot is that exactly?” Juyeon grins, flashing perfectly straight white teeth at him, and responds, “Probably some fluff work about you and me and our undying romance. Y’know, where we’re both conveniently good looking and nothing goes wrong except minor issues that can be resolved in a chapter or so.” Hyunjae rolls his eyes again and hides his answering smile in the fabric of Juyeon’s jeans. 

“Idiot,” he yawns. “Will you read to me?” Hyunjae settles back down with one hand wedged intimately under the crook of Juyeon’s knee. Ever since they started seeing one another, Hyunjae has discovered his penchant for being read to. Perhaps it’s the way Juyeon’s lips form around words, or the way his voice manages to feel like a warm fire in the winter - _can sound have a feeling?_ \- but whatever it is, Hyunjae finds there’s nothing quite as comforting as falling asleep to Juyeon reading aloud, mellifluous tone suffusing either one of their small bedrooms.

Juyeon laughs quietly before reaching over the bed to grab his book again. “You want to fall asleep listening to Nietzsche expound upon the flaws of nihilism?” he asks teasingly, and Hyunjae “mm”s drowsily in response. 

“Would love nothing more,” he responds wryly, and Juyeon’s smoky chuckle is positively delightful, even in his feverish state. 

Then, Juyeon begins to read. His soft, husky voice fills the room, the admittedly dry material taking life in his familiar dulcet tone, and Hyunjae finds himself drifting slowly, as if out to sea. As Hyunjae falls deeper and deeper asleep, mind hazy, he wonders how Nietzsche’s theory of eternal recurrence manages to sound an awful lot like love.   
  


IV.  
  


Chanhee doesn’t think he’s ever been as grumpy as he is right now. The rain is slamming a steady drumbeat down on the pavement in the midst of this late summer typhoon, and Chanhee wonders, not for the first time, how someone as pretty as he is could possibly be getting soaked in this entirely uncouth manner. Valiantly trying to squeeze himself to the back of the bus stop veranda, he pulls his phone out _again_ to text his group chat of former friends (if none of them can come pick him up in his time of need, they don’t get the honour of being considered a friend, he thinks snidely). 

_Chanhee:  
  
_ Guys seriously  
I’m fucking soaked  
Can someone pick me up omfg

Unsurprisingly, but still infuriatingly, no response. 

Chanhee huffs, and for a moment he contemplates the horror of walking back to his flat, when a silver sedan pulls up next to the bus stop. He pays it no mind until the window rolls down and Juyeon’s head pops out.

“Chanhee-ssi! Do you need a ride?” he shouts over the thundering of the raindrops. Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Chanhee groans immediately, “ _Yes_ , thank god,” before hopping straight in — completely unfazed by the fact that his wet clothes are probably dripping all over the leather seats.

The inside of the car is clean and tidy unlike many student cars that Chanhee has been in, and Juyeon turns the heat up when he sits down. 

“Thanks so much, I thought I was going to die out there,” Chanhee laments, flicking the water out of his eyes as gracefully as he can. “What’re you doing in this neighbourhood?”

“Picking you up,” Juyeon says pleasantly, flashing him a quick smile before turning back to face the road. At Chanhee’s bewildered look, he clarifies amusedly, “Hyunjae told me you were stuck in the rain, and since I don’t have class for another-” he checks his wrist watch, “-fifty two minutes, I figured I’d come get you before you drowned in this monsoon.”

Chanhee gapes rather unattractively at his acquaintance-turned-chauffeur, a sputtering noise escaping his normally composed person. “I- but-” Juyeon gives him a placating quirk of a mouth, and Chanhee clamps his jaw shut. “Thank you,” he says appreciatively. 

Juyeon just laughs in his unassuming way and turns on the car speakers. “Pick whatever you want, I don’t really mind,” he offers invitingly, and Chanhee, never one to shy away from dominating the aux cord, complies blithely. He picks a soothing lo-fi music station, and a comfortable silence descends upon the car, broken only by an occasional hum from himself or the pattering of Juyeon’s fingertips on the wheel in time to the beat. 

It’s only when they’re halfway to Chanhee’s apartment building - how Juyeon knows where Chanhee lives is a mystery unbeknownst to him - that Chanhee’s eyes catch on the raw, welted skin of Juyeon’s knuckles. 

Before he can stop himself, he blurts out, “What happened to you?” 

Juyeon startles, looking surprised at the question for the briefest moment until his eyes zero in on his hands. “Oh.” Before Chanhee has time to regret his intrusiveness, Juyeon huffs out a rueful laugh. 

“I didn’t get them fighting if that’s what you’re thinking,” he says bashfully. “Or- I mean, I guess I _technically_ did.” 

Chanhee looks appalled.

“I train at a boxing gym every week, and I sometimes compete in matches,” Juyeon explains, and Chanhee feels his eyebrows shoot up into his hairline. 

“That’s…intense,” he says obviously, cringing at himself. “D’you like the sport?” 

Juyeon’s eye twitches as he slants a glance at the pink haired boy sitting primly in his passenger seat. Slowly and carefully he murmurs, “Not really. I didn’t have the easiest relationship with my parents growing up and I had built up a lot of…” he searches for the right word, “-anger. A counsellor recommended I take up boxing as a sort of meditative release in high school.” He shrugs. “I guess even after the anger melted away, the sport had sort of seeped its way into my bones somehow. I don’t think I could stop now even if I wanted to.” 

Chanhee nods contemplatively. “It must’ve been hard- being so angry when you were just a kid,” he says gently. 

Juyeon smiles softly and replies, full of feeling, “It was, but I’m rarely angry as an adult now, so I suppose it was worth it. ‘What matters most is how well you walk through the fire’ and all that, right?” 

The pink haired boy chuckles in agreement. “Bukowski. An apt quote.” 

Juyeon’s eyes light up and he nods happily as he slows the car down to a standstill. “Incredible author — I wrote my undergraduate Germanic Studies thesis on his works,” he says. “I won’t bore you with it though, since we’re here anyway.” 

Chanhee looks up and notices that they had in fact arrived in front of his apartment building. He smiles and gathers his jacket around him, placing one hand on the door handle before turning to face Juyeon properly. “Thank you,” he says - _for the ride, for sharing a part of yourself_ \- meaningfully. Fleetingly, he wonders if Juyeon will understand the depth of his gratitude, but, as he sees dark irises soften and a red mouth curl shyly, he thinks that, perhaps, Juyeon does.   
  


V.  
  


Sunwoo watches as Hyunjae twitches anxiously, fidgeting with the tape on his mic. He keeps checking his phone every few minutes, and the steadily growing disappointment on his friend’s face is nothing short of crushing.

“Hyung, don’t stress, I’m sure he’ll make it in time for your solo,” Sunwoo says, trying to ease the tension radiating off of Hyunjae’s slim frame. It’s halftime at Hyunjae’s a capella group’s performance, and Juyeon had texted them all at the last minute with the news that his faculty meeting was running late. When their little circle of friends had received the message, they’d exchanged dismayed looks — it was no secret how excited Hyunjae had been for the first performance of the semester.

Now, half of it has passed, and still with no sign of Juyeon. When the boys had snuck into the backstage area to surprise Hyunjae, his bright smile had immediately fallen at the conspicuously missing head of navy hair. Jacob wraps a soothing arm around Hyunjae’s shoulder and Chanhee pats his back sympathetically.

“I know, I just…” Hyunjae trails off, biting his bottom lip. “It’s dumb. I was just excited, that’s all.” 

Before the rest of them can say anything, a small ding is sounding throughout the auditorium, announcing the re-dimming of the lights. They all press comforting hugs into the blonde’s arms and traipse off glumly back to the main hall. As they take their seats, Sunwoo barely refrains from picking anxiously at his hangnail, and that’s only because Changmin has firmly clasped their hands together. 

“You okay baby?” the older boy asks quietly. Sunwoo nods and huffs.

“M’fine. I know it’s not Juyeon’s fault, it just sucks seeing Hyunjae hyung so bummed,” he responds, and though the fleeting kiss at his temple makes him feel a little better, the sight of Hyunjae’s wandering eyes as he steps onto the stage make Sunwoo wilt all over again. 

Just then, a muffled shuffling noise reaches his ears from the back of the auditorium, and Sunwoo turns to see Juyeon rushing in with a hunched-over back so as to not block the view for audience members behind him. The navy-haired boy is rather shockingly sweaty, but his relieved expression when he sees that Hyunjae hasn’t started yet makes something fond bloom in Sunwoo’s chest.

“Hey,” he whispers, making room for Juyeon to sit properly on the bench. “You’re just in time.” Juyeon grins and claps him on the back quietly as he settles in, and then the background singers are starting, their voices a sweet hum that fills the concert hall. 

It’s a little embarrassing, then, how Sunwoo doesn’t exactly spend the rest of the show focused on his friend, the actual performer, but finds himself looking to his side again and again at Juyeon. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to be the only one with this problem, since he catches Younghoon and Jacob doing it too over the following half hour. Something about the way Juyeon’s sharp features look bathed in the warm glow of the stage lights, radiating something even warmer from his half-moon eyes, is captivating, and Sunwoo finds it difficult to look away. Before he knows it, the show is ending, raucous cheers filling the room as the performers take their last bows. 

They all stand, searching for Hyunjae’s head of blonde hair amongst the crowd of singers hopping off the stage, and when they spot him with his incredulous, wildly bright grin, everyone moves as one. 

Their circle of friends is about to rush forward, as they always do after Hyunjae’s recitals, to shower him with flowers and kisses, but before they can, Hyunjae is running right past them. The five friends watch - some disgustedly, others indulgently - as Hyunjae leaps into Juyeon’s arms in the middle of the crowded auditorium, and, as if they were in a movie, Juyeon spins him around, laughing.

“Juyeonie you came,” Hyunjae says breathlessly, his eyes shining with unspeakable affection. 

“‘Course I did angel,” Juyeon murmurs, pressing their foreheads together. “I mean, I had to run through campus and I’m pretty sure I hurdled a bike rack, but of course I came,” he chuckles. “How could I miss your performance?”

Hyunjae smiles, unhooking his legs from around Juyeon’s waist and dropping down. His friends stare as Juyeon gently tangles one hand in Hyunjae’s hair and brings the other up to stroke his cheek so very reverently. “You were incredible,” Juyeon whispers, and his eyes are brimming with so much adoration that they seem to glow in the dark auditorium. “I-”

“I love you,” Hyunjae blurts out, his expression dancing with mirth when Juyeon’s jaw drops disbelievingly. “It’s okay if you’re not ready to-”

“I cannot _believe_ that after I ran all the way here, you _stole_ my line,” Juyeon intones flatly, but there’s no mistaking the gentle tenderness of his fingertips tracing the swell of Hyunjae’s cheek. His unamused expression melts comically quickly into endearing devotion, and he sighs in defeat. “My darling little idiot,” he teases. 

Hyunjae snickers as he sticks his tongue out to try and lick the hand on his face. “Say it back then you brute,” he demands and Juyeon just grins.

“I love you too,” he says, finally pressing their lips together, and Jacob smacks his hand over Sunwoo’s mouth when the red-haired boy groans a little too loudly. It’s sickeningly sweet, the way the two of them cling to one another, but as Sunwoo leans his chin on Changmin’s pointy shoulder, the friends feel a collective soft contentment wash over them.

One exchanged look - the silent kind shared between people who are more family than friends - assures a universal understanding among the five.

Juyeon is, indeed, not such a bad guy after all. 

VI.  
  


It’s midnight on a boring Sunday, and truthfully, if it weren’t for the fact that Hyunjae’s birthday is tomorrow - a Monday, gross - they’d all be in their respective homes trying to catch the last dregs of relaxation before the hectic school week starts back up. As it is, however, they’re all piled in front of Hyunjae’s doorstep, party hats askew and balloons in clutched hands, waiting for Jacob to fish his spare key out. 

“Hurry up hyung, I have to pee so bad,” Changmin groans, doing an awkward little dance that looks particularly bizarre on his usually graceful frame. Jacob waves him off, arm stuck hysterically far down his enormous tote bag full of Hyunjae’s favourite snacks when he finally feels the jagged tip of the key. 

“Got it!” he cries happily, dragging it out. As quietly as he can, he unlocks the door, turning back to level the rest of them with a look and a finger to his lips. “Okay, on three,” he whispers.

The door swings open, and they all burst in. “Surprise!” 

The living room is dark and completely empty. Perturbed, they all blink at each other in the darkness, entirely confused. No grad student in their right mind would be out partying at midnight on a Sunday, which thus begs the question of precisely where Hyunjae could possibly be right now. 

“Is he asleep?” Sunwoo asks disbelievingly. Collectively, they cock their heads to the side. The Hyunjae they know never sleeps before 1 AM, even on a Sunday, and especially not on a Sunday that’s the night before his birthday. 

“I don’t care, I have to go pee,” Changmin rushes out, and, before any of them can stop him, he’s dashing down the hallway.

Not a second later, however, he’s running back with an ashen expression. “Oh my god, oh my god, _oh my god_ ,” he mutters in quick succession, eyes wider than they’ve ever been.

“Babe?” Sunwoo asks, alarmed. Changmin doesn’t deign to respond, just buries his head in Sunwoo’s shoulder as he continues to chant, “ _Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god_.”

The rest of them exchange perplexed looks, before they all walk farther into the apartment. “Don’t!” Changmin cries suddenly, a wild expression on his face. “You don’t want to do that.” 

They stare at him for a moment, then Younghoon coughs out a dismissive laugh. “Yah, so dramatic, it’s fine! C’mon, we came all the way here.” 

Ignoring Changmin’s foreboding, “I warned you,” they all tiptoe quietly towards the hallway, getting closer and closer to the bedroom when suddenly— 

_SMACK!_

Everyone jumps, and Chanhee barely manages to muffle a scream. 

“You like that, you little slut?” a voice growls roughly. 

Not just any voice. Juyeon’s voice. 

Younghoon looks positively alarmed, and Chanhee barely manages to restrain Sunwoo from bursting furiously through the door to demand what’s going on when a sharp moan echoes through the hallway.

“ _Ngh_ y-yes, like that,”— they all pale when they realise that’s their _friend_ whimpering like he’s a lead in a pornographic film.

Another obscene smack rings through the small apartment, followed by a sharp keen, and then the distinctive _slap slap slap_ sound that every boy in his twenties is all too familiar with permeates the hallway, and Younghoon lurches as if he’s about to throw up.

“Fuck, who knew a pretty angel like you would be such a fucking slut,” Juyeon grunts as he slams into Hyunjae, and the answering whines makes Jacob’s hair stand on end. 

“Harder baby- please,” Hyunjae pleads, and suddenly shrieks. 

“Don’t fucking tell me what to do,” Juyeon hisses poisonously, still thrusting with vicious abandon based on the crude noises echoing around the walls. “Pretty baby thinks that just cause he took his punishment he gets to be all bratty again, hm?” A choked gasp pierces the air, and Chanhee suddenly has the distinctive visceral mental image of Juyeon’s enormous, tattooed and bruised hand wrapping around the pale column of Hyunjae’s throat. 

The gasp seems to be the last straw for Sunwoo, who scarpers, dragging his friends by the wrists as they stumble out into the living room where Changmin is waiting, biting his nails. They all scramble out of the apartment, and Jacob locks the door behind him frantically, breath coming in wild pants. There’s a moment of silence as what they had just been privy to sinks in, and then— 

“Oh my fucking _god_ ,” Chanhee breathes horrifiedly, leaning against Younghoon who is trying to valiantly rub his eyes as if it’ll scrub away his short-term memory.

“ _What the fuck,”_ Jacob groans, and no one even comments on the fact that he’s used a curse word for the first time in years. “I cannot- oh my god- that was-”

“Fucking disgusting,” Younghoon chimes in, sounding distinctly nauseated. “I want to _die_. I’m going home. This night- Christ- this night never happened, let’s go Chanhee,” he says all in one breath, grabbing the pink-haired boy and tugging forcefully. 

Sunwoo, who has only just stopped somewhat-genuinely gagging while Changmin pats his back soothingly, straightens up with a pained look on his face. Jacob stares at them both, still trying to compose himself by taking deep, cleansing breaths.

“Okay- I mean, alright, okay- that was…” He pauses. Breathes. “Okay. While that was possibly the grossest, most traumatising thing that’s ever happened to me, we don’t have to, like, change our opinion about Juyeon, right? He’s not a bad guy just cause he and Hyunjae- y’know- like that stuff. Right? _Right?_ ” he asks shrilly. 

Perhaps it’s because the poor thing sounds so close to hyperventilating that Sunwoo finds the strength to steel himself and nod firmly, taking charge of the situation as he steers Jacob and Changmin out of the building by their shoulders. “Yep, still not a bad guy. Sex positivity, hyung. We still like him, even though I sort of want to die right now. Still not a bad guy.” 

They all nod dazedly as they hurry out, heaving sighs of relief when they burst onto the street to inhale the cool, early autumn air. A stunned silence falls upon them as they walk slowly through campus, each one of them wide-eyed in the way soldiers probably are after they come back from war. 

It’s only much later, when they’re almost back at the apartment building the three of them live in, that Changmin finally speaks dumbfoundedly.

_“He kinda fucks like a bad guy though.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> If you want to chat or get updates on my work, come find me on Twitter (link in profile)!
> 
> \- Anon


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